Can one really go a week without committing a mortal sin?

[Melchior]

I mean in ones thoughtlife. Can anyone really be ready for the Eucharist on Sunday without confession on Saturday. I am despairing of believing this is possible.

Here is a real life example, I am going through a horrible legal battle with some very greedy people who have deeply hurt and slandered those I love. I struggle greatly with sadistic thoughts about them. Not that I would ever act these thoughts out, but I would think the committing the sin in your heart constitutes mortal sin. Or how many young men can go for very long with a weak moment and indulge an impure thought in our sex saturated culture? How many gossip as a pass-time?

I know someone is going to mention scruples, but I cannot imagine that I have gone for any significant amount of time in my adult life without committing a mortal sin in my mind.

If I wish to be in a state of grace as a Catholic I fear I would be in the confessional at least a couple times a week. Which leads me to believe I would be in a constant state of fear, living from confession to confession.

Does anyone get this? At least as a devout protestant I could repent, confess to God, which I do daily and strive to overcome my sins and bask in God’s mercy through Christ. I fear as a Catholic my personal repentance would mean next to nothing until I could get to confession - not knowing if my contrition is perfect or not.

Has any one experience the level of sanctification where they find they actually sin less and less via the grace of the Sacraments?

Mel

 

[eliasaph99]

I mean in ones thoughtlife. Can anyone really be ready for the Eucharist on Sunday without confession on Saturday. I am despairing of believing this is possible.

Here is a real life example, I am going through a horrible legal battle with some very greedy people who have deeply hurt and slandered those I love. I struggle greatly with sadistic thoughts about them. Not that I would ever act these thoughts out, but I would think the committing the sin in your heart constitutes mortal sin. Or how many young men can go for very long with a weak moment and indulge an impure thought in our sex saturated culture? How many gossip as a pass-time?

I know someone is going to mention scruples, but I cannot imagine that I have gone for any significant amount of time in my adult life without committing a mortal sin in my mind.

If I wish to be in a state of grace as a Catholic I fear I would be in the confessional at least a couple times a week. Which leads me to believe I would be in a constant state of fear, living from confession to confession.

Does anyone get this? At least as a devout protestant I could repent, confess to God, which I do daily and strive to overcome my sins and bask in God’s mercy through Christ. I fear as a Catholic my personal repentance would mean next to nothing until I could get to confession - not knowing if my contrition is perfect or not.

Has any one experience the level of sanctification where they find they actually sin less and less via the grace of the Sacraments?

Mel

Yes.

The sacraments and prayer guard against sin.

You are being scrupulous. Thoughts which you desire not to have, but which arise in your mind are not mortal sin. They are venial.

i.e. Thinking about inflicting physical harm on those who are financially or emotionally harming your loved ones is not a mortal sin. Dwelling on it and fantasizing about it may be.
But having thoughts and then, maybe even much later, saying to oneself, “That isn’t right and I shouldn’t think that” is not a mortal sin, it is venial.

I don’t think gossip is a mortal sin. I believe that it can lead to mortal sin, but in and of itself, it is venial.

As for being in the state of Grace, it’s simple. God is not playing a pedantic little game of gotcha with humanity. Even those who commit mortal sin may die without confession without being consigned to hell if they are contrite and repentant in their hearts.

God isn’t going to say, “Well, you sinned on Tuesday and died on Thursday, but confession wasn’t until Saturday evening, so it’s eternal damnation for you. Sorry but that’s the rules.”

I mean, c’mon!

I live as a Catholic who believes in and avails himself of Confession. I do not live in fear in between Confessions because I know that God is love, He is reasonable, He is merciful. He is not a legalistic jerk.

In short, God loves me so I am not afraid (most of the time!)!

 

[Lady_Cygnus]

I mean in ones thoughtlife. Can anyone really be ready for the Eucharist on Sunday without confession on Saturday. I am despairing of believing this is possible.

Here is a real life example, I am going through a horrible legal battle with some very greedy people who have deeply hurt and slandered those I love. I struggle greatly with sadistic thoughts about them. Not that I would ever act these thoughts out, but I would think the committing the sin in your heart constitutes mortal sin. Or how many young men can go for very long with a weak moment and indulge an impure thought in our sex saturated culture? How many gossip as a pass-time?

I know someone is going to mention scruples, but I cannot imagine that I have gone for any significant amount of time in my adult life without committing a mortal sin in my mind.

If I wish to be in a state of grace as a Catholic I fear I would be in the confessional at least a couple times a week. Which leads me to believe I would be in a constant state of fear, living from confession to confession.

Does anyone get this? At least as a devout protestant I could repent, confess to God, which I do daily and strive to overcome my sins and bask in God’s mercy through Christ. I fear as a Catholic my personal repentance would mean next to nothing until I could get to confession - not knowing if my contrition is perfect or not.

Has any one experience the level of sanctification where they find they actually sin less and less via the grace of the Sacraments?

Mel

In order for a sin to be mortal it has to be of a grave matter. In order to be a sin at all it has to be deliberately done with full intent and knowledge. Having negative thoughts come into your mind about people isn’t necessarily a sin, because our thoughts aren’t completely under our control. We’ve all had an instance where something totally random came to mind without our willing it. The point where it becomes a sin is when you start harboring those thoughts and seeking to increase them.

I personally believe I’ve only committed a few mortal sins in my life, although I’ve done quite a bit that was grave, I didn’t have full understanding or control. Those that I believe are mortal sins are those where the thought came to my mind to think or do something, I checked myself thinking, “I know this is a grave sin to think or do this thing”, and then said “fu Lord, I’m going to do it anyway.”

 

[MichaelTDoyle]

Yes.

The sacraments and prayer guard against sin.

You are being scrupulous. Thoughts which you desire not to have, but which arise in your mind are not mortal sin. They are venial.

Such thoughts may not be a sin at all. If you are plagued by bad thoughts but dismiss them every time they arise, is this not heroic virtue?

Sin requires an act of willful disobedience I believe.

mike

 

[Spirithound]

I mean in ones thoughtlife. I am despairing of believing this is possible.

I struggle greatly with sadistic thoughts about them. Or how many young men can go for very long with a weak moment and indulge an impure thought in our sex saturated culture?

I know someone is going to mention scruples, but I cannot imagine that I have gone for any significant amount of time in my adult life without committing a mortal sin in my mind.

I fear as a Catholic my personal repentance would mean next to nothing until I could get to confession - not knowing if my contrition is perfect or not.

Has any one experience the level of sanctification where they find they actually sin less and less via the grace of the Sacraments?

Despair not! It is possible, but only through the grace of God!
I often struggle with lustful thoughts, and I firmly believe that it is only through the graces I receive through frequent confession that I beat the devil in this matter. My thoughts often come in cycles, and my attendance at confession fluctuates from usually once every 2 weeks, to every 3 days, depending on how strong the attacks are (and I often have other sins to confess too )
So, on to the topic of scruples. One of the 10 Commandments for the Scrupulous is that unless you can swear to God Himself that you intended to commit the sin, then it is not mortal. So, your sin is most likely not mortal. I do encourage weekly confession tho, because you need grace to conquer these thoughts.
Even if you have perfect contrition, you are still required to go to confession as soon as possible.
So, to conclude, confession grants grace, and grace works!!

 

[rr1213]

I mean in ones thoughtlife. Can anyone really be ready for the Eucharist on Sunday without confession on Saturday. I am despairing of believing this is possible.

Here is a real life example, I am going through a horrible legal battle with some very greedy people who have deeply hurt and slandered those I love. I struggle greatly with sadistic thoughts about them. Not that I would ever act these thoughts out, but I would think the committing the sin in your heart constitutes mortal sin. Or how many young men can go for very long with a weak moment and indulge an impure thought in our sex saturated culture? How many gossip as a pass-time?

I know someone is going to mention scruples, but I cannot imagine that I have gone for any significant amount of time in my adult life without committing a mortal sin in my mind.

If I wish to be in a state of grace as a Catholic I fear I would be in the confessional at least a couple times a week. Which leads me to believe I would be in a constant state of fear, living from confession to confession.

Does anyone get this? At least as a devout protestant I could repent, confess to God, which I do daily and strive to overcome my sins and bask in God’s mercy through Christ. I fear as a Catholic my personal repentance would mean next to nothing until I could get to confession - not knowing if my contrition is perfect or not.

Has any one experience the level of sanctification where they find they actually sin less and less via the grace of the Sacraments?

Mel

You’re not alone in this. I have the same reservations that you’ve stated so well above.

 

[LilyM]

Despair not! It is possible, but only through the grace of God!
I often struggle with lustful thoughts, and I firmly believe that it is only through the graces I receive through frequent confession that I beat the devil in this matter. My thoughts often come in cycles, and my attendance at confession fluctuates from usually once every 2 weeks, to every 3 days, depending on how strong the attacks are (and I often have other sins to confess too )
So, on to the topic of scruples. One of the 10 Commandments for the Scrupulous is that unless you can swear to God Himself that you intended to commit the sin, then it is not mortal. So, your sin is most likely not mortal. I do encourage weekly confession tho, because you need grace to conquer these thoughts.
Even if you have perfect contrition, you are still required to go to confession as soon as possible.
So, to conclude, confession grants grace, and grace works!!

Amen! I’m not perfect or sinless, but I can vouch for it that frequent (weekly or fortnightly) confession and Mass as many days as I’m able to attend have brought me closer than I could ever have thought they possibly could.

 

[Contarini]

In order for a sin to be mortal it has to be of a grave matter. In order to be a sin at all it has to be deliberately done with full intent and knowledge.

That is not what I’ve previously read/heard. My understanding was that a *venial *sin can be committed without full intent, although not without some degree of consent. I.e., one may have an angry or lustful thought and not fully consent to it, but there’s something in you that responds to it and perhaps you don’t push it away quite as quickly as you might. That, as I understand it, would be a venial sin. I am certainly willing to be instructed better. . . .

I believe that the Council of Trent said that no one could go through life without committing some venial sins, but anyone could (with the grace of God) go without mortal sins.

In Christ,

Edwin

 

[Prayer_Warrior]

I too believe that you may be afflicted with at least some amount of scruple. It has been a very long time since I have been in a state of mortal sin. Remember, with mortal sin, you have to commit it with full knowledge and full consent and it has to be a grave matter. Lustful thoughts, if fleeting are not mortal sins. They can certainly become mortal, if you dwell on it and/or take action on these thoughts. Gossip, may or may not be a grave matter, depending on the damage done to a persons reputation and they extent of the gossip etc. So again, with mortal sin you KNOW you are in mortal sin because it was a deliberate, willful act of disobedience. So in answer to your question, I absolutely believe we can go a week with out committing a mortal sin. Lest you think I am being sanctimonius, I freely admit that I am a sinner and have committed mortal sins in my life. But I have learned from them and make it a point to never wander that way again. I follow the 10 commandments very closely and abide by Church law (go to Mass on all Holy Days of Obligation, including all Sundays, of course, fasting on Ash Wednesday, etc).

I would always recommend frequent confession, even for venial sins. I can attest to the fact that great graces come of confession. I had a sin that was recurring. It was an irreverence toward the Lord that just popped out of my mouth when I was angry. (I will add that I came from an agnostic background and had this nasty habit before ever become Catholic). Anyway, long story short, I began to go confession every week and even counted the number of times I said this particular saying. I repented with all my heart and prayed that God would help me conquer this habit. Guess what? He did. I found that the more I confessed and prayed, the less I did it. Until finally, a habit I had for over 15 years vanished…even when I was angry.

I would recommend you talk with your confessor about your concerns and feelings. I’m sure he will be able to give you some guidence.

 

[Jerry-Jet]

Scrupulosity is wrong–trying as hard as you can not to sin and doing your best to confess sin when you do sin–is not wrong–it is saintly!

 

[Pug]

Can one really go a week without committing a mortal sin?

Yes! Ordinary people do it all the time, not just the Mother Theresa’s of the world.

I am despairing of believing this is possible.

This is a temptation. Do not give in! When you are confronted with a possible mortal sin to do, God is right there giving you enough grace to keep out of danger. He has not abandoned you.

At least as a devout protestant I could repent, confess to God, which I do daily and strive to overcome my sins and bask in God’s mercy through Christ. I fear as a Catholic my personal repentance would mean next to nothing until I could get to confession - not knowing if my contrition is perfect or not.

Are you saying that a Catholic is less likely to have perfect contrition than a Protestant?

Has any one experience the level of sanctification where they find they actually sin less and less via the grace of the Sacraments?

Yes! There was this big change that took place with one particular confession. After that I did sin less and less. I especially found that having chastity issues removed from my life made the other issues easier to handle. I have felt very very grateful to God for a long time from that. However, I am rather stalled right now, and not particularly improving. I need to pray more. I am lazy.

 

[Spirithound]

Are you saying that a Catholic is less likely to have perfect contrition than a Protestant?

I think the issue the poster is talking about is the Protestant’s blissful ignorance of having to go to confession to a human being at all…

 

[Melchior]

Yes.

The sacraments and prayer guard against sin.

You are being scrupulous. Thoughts which you desire not to have, but which arise in your mind are not mortal sin. They are venial.

i.e. Thinking about inflicting physical harm on those who are financially or emotionally harming your loved ones is not a mortal sin. Dwelling on it and fantasizing about it may be.
But having thoughts and then, maybe even much later, saying to oneself, “That isn’t right and I shouldn’t think that” is not a mortal sin, it is venial.

I don’t think gossip is a mortal sin. I believe that it can lead to mortal sin, but in and of itself, it is venial.

As for being in the state of Grace, it’s simple. God is not playing a pedantic little game of gotcha with humanity. Even those who commit mortal sin may die without confession without being consigned to hell if they are contrite and repentant in their hearts.

God isn’t going to say, “Well, you sinned on Tuesday and died on Thursday, but confession wasn’t until Saturday evening, so it’s eternal damnation for you. Sorry but that’s the rules.”

I mean, c’mon!

I live as a Catholic who believes in and avails himself of Confession. I do not live in fear in between Confessions because I know that God is love, He is reasonable, He is merciful. He is not a legalistic jerk.

In short, God loves me so I am not afraid (most of the time!)!

Thank you. I must ask is there a time limit on committing a sin on ones heart? If I briefly fanatasize about hurting someone (murder in the heart) or do it for ten minutes what’s the difference? If I have a 30 second immoral fantasy vs. a 20 minutes one is there a time frame where it crosses from venial to mortal? I am not being sarcastic, I am just not following your reasoning. I am am not talking about being tempting with a fleeting thought that is not indulged. I am talking about actually entertaining a sinful thought, even if the fantasy is brief. I know God is merciful, but how do I determine this? Because I will or will not go to communion based on it.

Mel

 

[Melchior]

Such thoughts may not be a sin at all. If you are plagued by bad thoughts but dismiss them every time they arise, is this not heroic virtue?

Sin requires an act of willful disobedience I believe.

mike

I agree. However, I usually fail to be so heroic.

Mel

 

[Melchior]

Are you saying that a Catholic is less likely to have perfect contrition than a Protestant?

No. I am saying I did not want to feel like a slave to someone elses schedule to be right with God. I repented and confessed my sins daily. I felt His presence and blessing on my life. Now I feel like, just a Catholic kid, it is less about Christ and more about me. If I can get an appointment with a priest of if I can make it on Saturday in the 15 to 45 minutes time frame set aside for confession depending on which parish I go too. I want to know that if I slip up God still blesses me and my family in between my sins and my next confession. How do I lead my family in prayer, trust he answers me and blesses my labours if I am in a state of mortal sin even though I am repentant and have confessed to Him.

As a devout Protestant I was able to live in His Grace daily. As a new revert I feel like that grace is so fragile and so dependant on me to maintain I have very little peace. I am living the stereo-type of every Boston Catholic family I knew growing up. It was about rules more than Jesus. This is not what I expected “coming home”.

 

[Melchior]

I think the issue the poster is talking about is the Protestant’s blissful ignorance of having to go to confession to a human being at all…

It is blissful when you feel like many priests don’t take confession seriously and you feel like a pain showing up. I believe in confession. But I also believe it has to be better than this. I want to be a slave to Christ who sets us free not a slave to someone elses schedule and convenience to be right with God. This would be easier if there was an actual answer as to what constitutes mortal sin. I am getting some good opinions, and I do appreciate it, but this thread alone has contradictory opinions. I am convinced I commit mortal sins, even if in brief moments, often. I am a sinner, God have mercy on me.

The sense I am getting is that many Catholics rationalize their sins to fit the venial category even when they are mortal - just to get by and be happy. I don’t want to live my life in self delusion. Anytime I have minimized my sins the results were very bad. When I realize just how sinful I truly am I do much better.

It is tough to go from thinking relationally for 25 years, “I sin my Father in Heaven forgives me and I am restored. Grace is never lost, but the relationship is damaged” to “I sin my grace is destroyed and I am once again God’s enemy until I can get to a priest, even though I am genuinely sorry and angry with myself”. There is the dillemna.

 

[eliasaph99]

It is blissful when you feel like many priests don’t take confession seriously and you feel like a pain showing up. I believe in confession. But I also believe it has to be better than this. I want to be a slave to Christ who sets us free not a slave to someone elses schedule and convenience to be right with God. This would be easier if there was an actual answer as to what constitutes mortal sin. I am getting some good opinions, and I do appreciate it, but this thread alone has contradictory opinions. I am convinced I commit mortal sins, even if in brief moments, often. I am a sinner, God have mercy on me.

The sense I am getting is that many Catholics rationalize their sins to fit the venial category even when they are mortal - just to get by and be happy. I don’t want to live my life in self delusion. Anytime I have minimized my sins the results were very bad. When I realize just how sinful I truly am I do much better.

It is tough to go from thinking relationally for 25 years, “I sin my Father in Heaven forgives me and I am restored. Grace is never lost, but the relationship is damaged” to “I sin my grace is destroyed and I am once again God’s enemy until I can get to a priest, even though I am genuinely sorry and angry with myself”. There is the dillemna.

I don’t have a good definition of mortal sin off the top of my head. Go to the Catechism and look it up. There are plenty of them online.

Here’s a link to one:

christusrex.org/www1/CDHN/ccc.html

 

[mommyof4]

For a good article about mortal sin, please read this article. It does a good job explaining this:

mission.liguori.org/newsletters/pdf_archive/november2005sa_web.pdf

 

[eliasaph99]

Thank you. I must ask is there a time limit on committing a sin on ones heart? If I briefly fanatasize about hurting someone (murder in the heart) or do it for ten minutes what’s the difference? If I have a 30 second immoral fantasy vs. a 20 minutes one is there a time frame where it crosses from venial to mortal? I am not being sarcastic, I am just not following your reasoning. I am am not talking about being tempting with a fleeting thought that is not indulged. I am talking about actually entertaining a sinful thought, even if the fantasy is brief. I know God is merciful, but how do I determine this? Because I will or will not go to communion based on it.

Mel

You’re welcome.

If by fantasize, you mean deliberately initiate the thoughts and willfully and pleasurably entertain them, then that may be a mortal sin. But I really don’t know. This subject should be discussed face to face between you and your confessor.

Above I wasn’t referring to fantasizing, but more to the arising of a non-deliberate thought. For instance, if someone ran into my car, I might get angry and want to hurt them. These thoughts and feelings may be more than fleeting, but if I am not deliberately entertaining and nurturing them, they are a venial sin, not a mortal one. This is because they arise naturally out of our own personalities and spiritual state. I think that a person can work towards a relationship with God where these thoughts and feelings would be less likely to arise, or would be more fleeting when they do.

The teaching of the Church is that participation in the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist removes the guilt of venial sin. These sins do not have to be confessed, but they don’t have to be withheld in confession either. If you have any doubt about whether a sin is venial or not, confess it.

Also, you do not have to forego communion if confession is not available to you. You have to be willing and ready to confess, truly contrite and go to confession at the next opportunity. Don’t miss communion! It is Christ Himself and He will heal you and give you the grace you need to get over this problem and not sin.

Personally, while I do think that it’s something of a scandal that more Catholics don’t go to confession, I take advantage of the fact that there isn’t a long line. I’m a graduate student and so busy that if my head weren’t attached I’d lose it. So, when I go to confession, it’s probably the only time I’ll see my confessor other than Mass. So I talk to him instead of just confess my sins. I ask about these exact kinds of things. Doing this has greatly helped my understanding and put me at peace with my relationship to God.

If your confessor is not someone who you think you can do this with, find a different confessor. Either a different priest at your parish or go to a neighboring parish. Personally, I think that the more conservative a priest, the better the advice I get in confession. More liberal priests seem to sometimes be dismissive of the seriousness of sin.

 

[rwoehmke]

Thank you. I must ask is there a time limit on committing a sin on ones heart? If I briefly fanatasize about hurting someone (murder in the heart) or do it for ten minutes what’s the difference? If I have a 30 second immoral fantasy vs. a 20 minutes one is there a time frame where it crosses from venial to mortal? I am not being sarcastic, I am just not following your reasoning. I am am not talking about being tempting with a fleeting thought that is not indulged. I am talking about actually entertaining a sinful thought, even if the fantasy is brief. I know God is merciful, but how do I determine this? Because I will or will not go to communion based on it.
Mel

Start off with the notion that as humans we are blest with the ability to reason and be reasonable. This would not be possible if God was not totally reasonable. God expects us to do our best to follow His rules which must be reasonable. That said there is no magic time limit on sins of thought. One could entertain a brutal or lacivious fantasy for seconds and commit serious sin or for hours and not do so. The point is that there is a point in time, not measured in seconds, minutes, or hours when you realize the thoughts you are entertaining are wrong. It has to be a conscious recognition that allows you by an act of your will to start taking action to rid yourself of these particular thoughts. The ridding may be swiftly successful or it make take some time, but the important thing is that you are working on it. You are taking action, praying, distracting your mind with something good, whatever, but you are taking action. There is no mortal sin.
Now lets say you are setting idle and a good looking chick walks by. You gaze at her and start to think of the possibilities. You almost instantly recognize this is not a good thing to be doing, but you think to yourself “What can a little fantasy hurt? I am going to dwell on these thoughts and enjoy them.” If you recognize those mental actions as being serious matter and you blow off doing anything to change your thoughts, yes, possibly a serious sin.

I sat with a group of non-catholics last week and we talked about sin, one woman was concerned about the “sins” she committed in her sleep, a couple of guys talked about the sins they were committing without even knowing it. I was thinking that I was happy to be a Catholic and know that God was not a petty tyrant setting traps to nail me for being disloyal.

One last thing. I was once very scrupulous and the only way to sanity turned out to be to stick with one confessor and follow his advice without question. He said when you commit a mortal sin there is no uncertainty. You will be absolutely sure and have no doubts. You will know it! If you have doubts whether it was mortal I don’t want you to confess it. It was difficult to follow that advice, but looking back some 50 years later, I think I would have eventually dispaired and committed suicide. I will include you in my rosary. Dick